Ho Hum

While TheNextWeb seems to think that "This short BBC documentary is the spookiest thing you’ll see today", it really isn't.  Unless you're very easily spooked, I suppose.

What it is, is a very well done piece on The World Hum, or simply The Hum, which doesn't try to draw any conclusions of its own.  This is good, because possible explanations range from mental disorders to government conspiracy.

The Hum is an unexplained worldwide phenomenon where certain people experience a very low, very annoying humming noise that can't be pinpointed and most people don't hear at all.  While I have never heard this noise, I have on occasion been able to hear my own blood flow and other internal sounds that could otherwise be hard to explain.

It also reminded me how much I love that the BBC video player's volume control goes to eleven.

Neglectful blogger... Again

Wow, over a year since my last post.  I really am a neglectful blogger!  Although, calling myself a blogger at all is really a bit of a stretch.  But that's another story.

There are a couple of main reasons that I haven't been updating my blog recently.  For one, I don't feel like I have much to say these days.  But a lot of people write stuff on the internet all of the time who really don't have anything to say, and that doesn't stop them!  Some of them are even paid for it, theoretically.  I guess I'd just like to think that I hold myself to a slightly higher standard when I actually "publish" something online.  (Haha)

Another reason is that I just don't spend much time at an actual computer anymore.  My job is such that I'm always up, moving around, dealing with all the minor disasters of a busy coffee shop; not sitting at a desk.  If I have idle time between tasks / disasters, I may pull out my phone and check the news / weather / Instagram, but I can't just pop open a new browser tab and work on a blog post.

Well, I guess I could work on a blog post from my phone... but... really?  There are so many more friction-free publishing and sharing platforms that were created for and optimized to phones, that it's just not worth the effort to try to write more than a few lines from my phone in between everything else.  I post to Instagram only a few times a week, occasionally Tweet, and only rarely do anything on Facebook, so actually writing a blog post is a bar too high.

Plus, I loose my train of thought too quickly!

This is actually a perfect example of reason number one for not blogging!  I've written half a page, and I haven't actually said anything that is of any use to anyone.  Oh well, at least I can be pretty sure that no one will actually take the time to read my maunderings!

Microsoft's True Opt-In

Microsoft announced a release date for Windows 10 recently (July 29th) and rolled out their free update program as well.  Current users of Windows 7 or 8/8.1 will have one year to claim their free update to Windows 10, after that they will have to purchase a update.  

I received the little windows icon in my tray yesterday telling me to "Get Windows 10", so of course I clicked it.  I clicked through their info screen and was ready to put in my email so they could confirm my "reservation", when I noticed the omnipresent advertising/marketing opt-in was unchecked by default!  

Many (most?) software companies leave this box checked and hope that you won't think to change it so they can get your "permission" to send you junk email or install some other, probably unwanted, program along with the primary one.  (I'm looking at you, Adobe.)

I just thought that it was admirable that Microsoft took the high road and didn't rope users into opting in to even more junk email that they don't need and won't read anyway.  Thanks!

This Running Thing

This running thing appears to have become a thing recently.  I know it's probably just an observation selection bias - because I've been running more, I notice running more - but it really seems that running has become more mainstream recently.
I used to never run.  Unless I was being chased by something that could harm me, of course.  But growing up, going to school, and working on the Front Range of Colorado offered very few opportunities to literally run for my life.  Thank God, because I probably wouldn't be here if that were a regular occurrence.  I remember playing soccer in elementary school and not liking it because I was such a bad runner.  And our "track" unit in middle school gym class was also a disaster, because I was so lanky and uncoordinated, that if I ever did get going fast, I would just end up kicking myself or something.  Then by high school, running during your lunch break was the punishment dealt out for missing a session of some class, which didn't exactly encourage my embrace of the sport.

Even in college, when I finally started to catch up to my own body, I still preferred to walk or ride a bicycle if I needed to get somewhere or play basketball (with its minimal running) if I wanted to be sporty.  When swing dancing became my primary extracurricular, that provided more than enough cardiovascular activity for me to feel fit and active.  I did do the typical lunch hour gym routine for a while when I had a desk job that was convenient to a fitness center, but even then I'd just hit the treadmill for ten minutes to "warm up".

It wasn't until 2012 when I started dating my girlfriend, who was/is into fitness, and moved to China, where I had lots of extra time on my hands, that I even started to go to the gym regularly and doing more than just a cursory 15 to 30 minutes on the elliptical or treadmill.  The air in Shanghai isn't as bad as many people think (most of the time, at least), and I got super bored of running in place in the carpeted gym of the apartment building we were living in.  Plus, I had to "train" for the 5k fun-run that I got roped in to doing by my girlfriend's colleagues, some of whom were real runners.  And as it turned out, it was kinda fun after you got used to it.

That was a really long way of saying that running seems to be more popular, even though I probably notice more running since I am "part of the problem," so to speak.  The emergence and proliferation of the obstacle course race phenomenon has certainly helped put running into the spotlight of our collective consciousness, even if it's one of the ultimate First-World things people do.  I am also currently in one of the US's top running cities, apparently, so that must cloud my judgement a bit too.  (They say it's nice to run in DC because it's so flat... they obviously have only run on the Mall.)

But since I am more in to trail running, I notice things like TrailPorn.com and this video about "The Joy of Running in a Beautiful Place".

Running has definitely become a thing for me.  I try to run three or four times a week and was even upping my mileage a bit.  Google Now suggests I read articles from Competitor and Strength Running and YouTube wants to help me improve my technique and speed.  I was even inspired to sign up for my first real race, a trail half marathon run in northern Virginia along the Potomac.  Good thing it's not until the spring, because I might have a stress fracture in my second metatarsal.  I'm not sure what kind of vigorous exercises I can do that don't involve loading and unloading that part of my foot...

...On that note, this post has officially wandered away from where it was headed, so just go look at some trail porn, watch that video a couple of times, and call it a day.

100k Follow-up and a fight with Tendinopathy

[TL;DR version: I did it, I hurt myself, but I'm fine.]


Today is the summer solstice, yay!  Or, "June" solstice for those of you not in the Northern Hemisphere.  That gets capitalized, right?  Anyway, I've talked about my mixed feelings about the first day of summer before... A holy-crap-long-time-ago, actually.  They're still basically the same, just less Emo.

Being the summer solstice, it's also nearly my birthday!  Which also means that it's been almost a month since I said I was going to try to up my running game a bit and set a goal of running 100 km in 30 days.



I'm pleased to say that I met and even exceeded that goal by just a little bit, and that I even worked through my first real running-related injury doing it!  After a long-ish run on June 7th I developed some pretty good pain in my left Achilles area and I immediately started nervously Googling for a diagnosis and treatment ideas.  (What, you think I'm actually going to go to a doctor?!  Bah!)

Apparently Achilles tendinitis isn't a real thing, because the tendon itself is incapable of swelling.  It's actually tendinopathy, because the tendon is actually frayed slightly.  That made my stomach do a back flip.  I wasn't only afraid that I would need a surgery that I couldn't afford, but that I wouldn't be able to keep running and meet my 100 km goal!

Luckily, what I had (have?) was/is pretty mild, and there have been some pretty good studies on non-surgical, strength based treatments for Achilles tendinopathy, including those mentioned in this long, un-dated, poorly titled, but otherwise very good article.  I have stuck pretty closely to that program for the past week and can happily report that I ran over 20 miles this week with only minimal discomfort.  I'm obviously going to keep up the calf strengthening work for at least another couple of weeks and see how the pain is, because honestly, your calves can never be too strong.

Ever had anything come between you and your goals?  Maybe just a running injury story you want to share?  Let me know!

Also, if you're interested in running (and not just racing), I highly recommend checking out Jason Fitzgerald's Strength Running website.  Run happy!